Oncogenes Tumor Suppressor Genes in BCell Lymphomas

Most BCLs are associated with characteristic chromosomal abnormalities that may help to establish an accurate primary diagnosis, have specific prognostic significance, or serve as targets for minimal residual disease (MRD) detection. Table 32-2 lists the recurrent cytogenetic abnormalities and the molecular correlates for most subtypes of BCL. This list of genetic abnormalities illustrates the large number of potential targets for molecular testing, but also highlights the increasing challenge for clinical molecular laboratories to provide relevant genetic information to clinicians. Because most chromosomal abnormalities are associated with specific BCL subtypes, diagnostic and prognostic molecular testing is often necessarily different in different BCLs. The BCL subtype-specific molecular abnormalities with diagnostic/prognostic significance are therefore discussed under the individual BCL categories below, and more general considerations are discussed later in the sections on diagnostic and prognostic indications for molecular testing in BCL.